Infertility is defined as 12 months of unsuccessful conception for women under 35. For women over 35, this decreases to six months of unsuccessful conception.
Infertility affects approximately 6.1 million couples in the United States (that is about 10% of the reproductive-age population).
Infertility is not associated with any specific race or ethnicity.
Infertility affects men and women almost equally. Infertility is identified as a male issue in about 40% of cases, and a female concern in 35% to 40% of cases.
Infertility results from a combination of medical conditions from both partners in approximately 25% of cases. About 20% of infertility problems remain unexplained even after complete medical evaluations.
A woman is most fertile in her mid-20s. Her fertility declines until she reaches 30, and then drops rapidly. The most common female infertility factor is an ovulation disorder.
Men also experience a decrease in fertility as they age. The most common reasons for male infertility include azoospermia (no sperm cells are produced) and oligospermia (few sperm cells are produced).
Infertility continues to be a recognized medical condition.
In vitro fertilization (IVF) accounts for approximately 99% of assisted reproductive technology services, with about 123,000 IVF cases reported in 2003.
1.2 million women, or 2% of women of childbearing age had an infertility appointment within the previous year.
Most infertility cases are treated with conventional medical therapies such as medication or surgery, although other techniques, such as ovarian stimulation followed by IVF, can increase the chances of success by 40% overall.
Since 1981, when IVF was first introduced in the US, more than 100,000 American babies have been born through this procedure. As well, the IVF average live delivery rate was 22.3% in 1995, and 27% in 2001. This last figure is better than the chances a perfectly fertile couple has each month of achieving pregnancy and carrying a fetus to term.
Advances in IVF have resulted in top centers achieving pregnancy rates exceeding 55%. Another available option for couples is called intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI). This reproductive technique involves capturing a single sperm and injecting it directly into the egg, a procedure that was first described in 1992. In 1995, the Society for Reproductive Medicine declared that ICSI was an accepted treatment for infertility.
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